Turkish police have once again prevented the weekly Saturday Mothers' vigil in Istanbul. According to the initiative, at least 47 members and supporters of the Saturday Mothers have been taken into custody today. Among them are Eren Keskin, co-chair of the Human Rights Association (IHD), Ümit Efe from the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV), journalist Arat Dink and lawyer Meriç Eyüboğlu from the Media and Law Association (MLSA). The detainees are accused of non-compliance with official orders.

The Galatasaray Square in front of the high school of the same name in the central district of Beyoğlu, where the 957th sit-in of the Saturday Mothers was to take place today, had been widely cordoned off by barriers and bars since early morning. Riot police were deployed with a large contingent and prevented the group from approaching the square, which is considered a symbolic site for the struggle for human rights in Turkey. The reason given was a ban on demonstrations issued by the Beyoğlu district governor's office.

Human rights activist Eren Keskin protested against the action and pointed to a ruling by the Constitutional Court that had declared bans on Saturday Mothers' gatherings unlawful. "Decisions of the Constitutional Court are final and binding on all organs of the legislative, executive and judicial branches. The district governor is not superior to the Constitutional Court. Such an action cannot be taken in a state of law. We just demand that the law be respected,” Keskin said.

Background

In 1995, women in Istanbul took to the streets for the first time to draw attention to relatives who had been arrested and then disappeared. Since a large-scale attack on the Saturday Mothers ordered by the Ministry of Interior in the summer five years ago, Galatasaray Square has been a no-go zone for the Saturday Mothers. But this is contrary to the right to freedom of assembly and demonstration, ruled the Turkish Constitutional Court on 22 February 2023, rejecting the ministry's objection that the Saturday Mothers threatened the "protection of public order". "Everyone has the right to take part in unarmed and peaceful assemblies and demonstrations without prior permission," says Article 34 of the Turkish Constitution, which the security authorities violated by banning the Saturday Mothers' forcefully dispersed action in August 2018 and all subsequent ones. The blockade of the square is therefore invalid, said the court ruling. The Turkish Interior Ministry and the Istanbul police ignore the ruling and continue to violently crack down on Saturday Mothers.